PAM. 

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KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE 
BEYAN  OR  A THIRD  CALL  OF 
ATTENTION  TO  THE  BEHAISTS 
OR  BABISTS  OF  AMERICA 

BY  AUGUST  J.  STENSTRAND 


■o  Son  of  Spirit!  The  best  of  all  to  Me  Is  justice.  Desire  thou  not 
to  cast  It  away.  If  thou  deslrest  Me,  auid  neglect  It  not,  that  thou 
■ayest  be  falthdul  to  Me,  for  by  It,  thou  wouldst  succeed  to  see  all 
the  things  with  thine  own  eye  and  not  by  the  eye  of  the  creatures, 
and  know  them  by  thine  own  knowledge  and  not  by  the  knowledge  of  any 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN 
OF  THE  BEY  AN 

— or  — 


A THIRD  CALL  OF  ATTENTION  TO  THE 
BEHAISTS  OR  BABISTS  OF 
AMERICA  . 


— by  — 

August  J.  Stenstrand 


“We  have  found  Him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law,  and  the 
prophets  did  write;  Jehgvah  the  Lord  of  Hosts.” 


In  writing  this  little  booklet,  I shall  refer  very  fre- 
quently to  Prof.  E.  G.  Browne’s  writings,  and  in  doing 
so  I shall  for  the  sake  of  brevity  denote  them  as  follows: 

“The  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society’’  I shall 
denote  as  JRAS. 

“A  Traveler’s  Narrative  written  to  illustrate  the  Epi- 
sode of  the  Bab’’  I shall  denote  as  T.  N. 

“The  New  History  of  the  Bab,”  I shall  denote  as  N.  H. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Now  since  I published  “A  Call  of  Attention  to  the 
Behaists  or  Babists  of  America”  in  1997,  and  “An  Open 
Letter  to  the  Babi  World”  in  1911,  I have  received  many 
letters  from  my  Bahai  friends,  both  friendly  and  un- 
friendly. Some  have  asked  me,  “What  right  have  you  to 
disturb  a religious  movement  so  peaceful  as  the  Bahais?” 
Well,  my  friends!  The  Bahai  religion  has  not  proven  to 
be  very  peaceful  in  its  propagation  so  far.  The  history 
proofs  contrary.  The  early  Babists  waged  war  openly 
against  their  opponents,  and  when  Beha  declared  himself 
to  be  the  head  of  the  movement  it  became  a secret  warfare 
by  assassinating  their  opponents  with  either  poison,  bullet 
or  dagger;  not  less  than  twenty  of  the  most  learned  and 
oldest  of  the  Babists,  including  many  of  the  original 
“Letters  of  the  Living,”  were  thus  removed.  It  was  said, 
'that  Beha  did  not  order  these  assassinations.  No,  but  he 
was  well  pleased  wdth  them,  and  the  perpetrators,  for  he 
promoted  them  to  higher  names  and  ranks.  One  of  them 
received  the  following  encouragement  from  Beha  for  steal- 
ing £350  in  money  from  one  of  his  antagonists:  “0 

phlebotomist  of  the  Divine  Unity!  Throb  like  the  artery 
in  the  body  of  the  Contingent  World,  and  drink  of  the 
blood  of  the  ‘Block  of  Heedlessness’  for  that  he  turned 
aside  from  the  aspect  of  thy  Lord  the  Merciful!”  (T.  N., 
p.  363.)  The  Behaists  in  this  country  have  not  been  very 
peaceful  neither.  But  on  the  contrary  they  have  ousteth, 
given  bad  names  and  throwing  mud  at  each  others  both 
in  their  sermons  and  in  print  worst  than  any  of  the 
Christian  denominations  or  heathen  religions  have  done. 
I am  afraid  of  a religion  of  which  its  highest  disciple  and 
promulgators  makes  utterances  like  this:  “Surely,  you 
cannot  pretend  to  deny  that  a prophet,  who  is  an  incar- 
nation of  the  Universal  Intelligence,  has  as  much  right  to 
remove  anyone  whom  he  perceives  to  be  an  enemy  to  re- 


4 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


ligion  and  a danger  to  the  welfare  of  mankind  as  a sur- 
geon has  to  amputate  a gangrened  limb?”  (T.  N.,  p.  372.) 
What  a verj'^  contrasting  idea  opposed  to  the  teaching  of 
the  “Point  of  the  Beyan”  which  says:  “No  one  is  to  ba 
slain  for  unbelief,  for  the  slaying  of  a soul  is  outside  the 
religion  of  God;  . , . and  if  any  one  commands  it,  he  is 
not  and  has  not  been  of  the  Beyan,  and  no  sin  can  be 
greater  for  him  than  this.”  (JRAS,  1889,  pp.  927-8.)  Or 
the  teaching  of  Christ,  when  he  said,  “resist  not  evil.” 
Hab.  2.11-12:  “Woe  to  him  that  buildeth  a town  with 
blood,  and  establisheth  a city  by  iniquity!  For  the  stone 
shall  cry  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam  out  of  the  timber 
shall  answer  it.”  It  is  true  as  it  stands,  that  they  are 
crying,  “Peace,  peace ; when  there  is  no  peace.”  Jer.  4. 10 : 
“Then  said  I,  Ah,  Lord  God!  surely  thou  hast  greatly  de- 
ceived this  people  and  Jerusalem,  saying.  Ye  shall  have 
peace;  whereas  the  sword  reacheth  unto  the  soul.” 

And  others  have  said,  that  “Subh-i-Ezel  has  never 
claimed  to  be  a manifestation,  and  why  should  you  claim 
it  for  him?”  Well,  my  friends,  Subh-i-Ezel  has  written 
many  books  which  claim  to  be  inspired;  and  these  books 
are  acknowledged  by  all  parties  to  be  of  Subh-i-Ezel’s  writ- 
ings. And  also  those  who  do  not  believe  that  there  was  any 
manifestation  which  took  place  in  Subh-i-Ezel’s  name 
should-  read  the  “New  Historj'^  of  the  Bab,”  pages  387  to 
394,  and  they  will  get  different  opinions  concerning  this 
matter.  When  John  the  Baptist  sent  his  disciples  to  Christ 
to  ask  him  if  he  was  the  promised  Messiah,  he  did  not  say, 
“Yes,  I am  the  Messiah.”  But  he  only  said,  “Go  and  tell 
John  what  ye  have  heard  and  seen.”  It  is  also  said:  “Lift 
up  your  heads  and  horns,  ye  wise  and  learned,  and  see  if 
ye  can  recognize  the  True  One.”  “Ye  shall  know  them  by 
their  fruits.”  “Learn  from  me  for  I am  meek  and  lowly.” 
“Many  shall  come  in  my  name  saying,  I am  Christ,  do  not 
believe  them,  for  as  the  lightning  cometh  out  of  the  east, 
and  shineth  unto  the  west ; so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the 


KKY  TO  THE  HEAVEN'  Ol-  THE  I’.EYAX 


5 


Son  of  man  be.”  So  we  learn  from  this  that  he  was  not 
going  to  cry  out  openly  to  the  people  that  “I  am  the 
Messiah,”  but  that  we  should  recognize  him  by  his  deeds 
and  actions  as  well  as  his  writings. 

Others  have  asked  me,  “Why  should  an  illiterate  and 
ignorant  man  like  you  who  hardly  knows  the  English 
language  try  to  dispute  the  well  established  fact,  that 
Haha’o’llah  is  the  True  Manifestation,  and  ‘He  whom  God 
should  manifest’  as  foretold  by  the  Bab?”  It  is  true,  that 
1 am  ignorant  in  the  English  language,  as  well  as  all  other 
languages.  But  my  dear  friends!  My  object  was  not  to 
teach  langauges  or  grammar.  My  only  purpose  was  this: 
1 had  received  an  idea  concerning  the  Babi  religion  dif- 
ferent from  the  ideas  of  the  rest  of  the  Babists’  or  Behaists’ 
view  of  looking  at  things.  And  this  idea  I wished  to  put 
before  the  people  to  consider,  and  I thought  that  the  most 
peaceful  and  practical  way  was  to  publish  it  and  send  it 
around  to  them,  and  then  let  them  choose  or  reject  as  they 
please;  and  in  doing  this  I only  followed  the  instruction 
which  says : “If  there  be  to  you  a word  or  essence  whereof 
others  than  you  are  devoid,  communicate  it  and  shew  it 
forth  in  the  language  of  affection  and  kindness:  if  it  be 
received  and  be  effective  the  object  is  attained,  and  if  not 
leave  it  to  him,  and  with  regard  to  him  deal  not  harshly 
but  pray.”  (T.  N.,  p.  72.) 

Concerning  “the  well  established  fact  that  Baha’o’llah 
is  the  True  Manifestation,  and  ‘He  whom  God  should 
manifest’  as  foretold  ’ y the  Bab”  is  very  doubtful.  The 
history,  and  the  sacred  scriptures  of  the  Babis,  as  well  as 
the  twenty  or  more  assassinations  of  the  oldest  and  most 
learned  disciples  of  the  “Point  of  the  Beyan”  which  in- 
augurated Beha’s  claims  disproof  this.  And  it  is  my  pur- 
pose with  this  little  booklet  to  take  the  sacred  scriptures 
of  the  Babis  and  try  to  proof  that  Beha  is  not  what  he 
claims  to  be,  but  the  contrary.  And  in  doing  so  I will  ask 
my  readers  to  overlook  my  illiterateness,  and  my  gram- 


6 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  REYAN 


matical  defects  and  only  look  to  the  ideas  I am  trying  to 
put  forth,  and  I will  do  my  best  in  setting  them  forth  in 
as  plain  language  as  I am  able  to  do,  to  make  you  under- 
stand what  my  ideas  are  concerning  the  religion  which 
to-day  is  called  Babism  or  Behaism ; and  if  I can  do  this 
my  object  is  attained. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Who  is  “His  Holiness  The  Point  of  the  Henan”  or  the 
“First  Manifestation?” 

In  this  chapter  we  shall  first  refer  to  the  prophecies  of 
our  own  sacred  scriptures,  and  of  the  Mohammedans’ 
traditions,  and  then  to  the  writings  and  sayings  of  the 
Forerunners,  and  last  to  the  writings  of  the  “Point  of 
the  Beyan,”  and  see  if  we  can  get  any  information  con- 
cerning who  is  the  “True  One.” 

In  Isaiah,  9.6,  we  read:  “For  unto  us  a child  is  born, 
unto  us  a son  is  given : and  the  government  shall  bs  upon 
his  shoulder:  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful, 
Counsellor,  The  mighty  God,  The  everlasting  (or  eternal) 
Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace.”  From  this  utterance  we 
understand  that  the  True  Manifestation  on  which  shoulder 
the  government  is  going  to  rest  is  “a  son,”  a mere  “child,” 
when  he  first  announces  his  “Message.”  In  Jeremiah,  1. 
6-7,  we  read : “Then  said  I,  Ah  Lord  God ! behold,  I cannot 
speak : for  I am  a child.  But  the  Lord  said  unto  me.  Say 
not,  I am  a child : for  thou  shalt  go  to  all  that  T shall  send 
thee,  and  whatsoever  I command  thee  thou  shalt  speak.” 
From  this  sentence  also  we  learn  that  when  God  first  sent 
him  with  the  message  he  was  only  a child.  Abraham  was 
only  fourteen  years  of  age  when  he  received  his  message, 
and  Moses  was  like  Jeremiah  only  a child  that  had  not 
hardly  learned  to  talk  yet,  and  Christ  was  only  twelve  years 
old  when  we  first  find  him  in  the  temple  of  God  with  the 
message.  liUke,  1.66:  “What  manner  of  child  shall  this 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN'  OF  THE  BEYAN 


7 


be!  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  him.”  Chapter  2. 
43:  “The  child  (R.  V.,  boy)  Jesus  tarried  behind  in 

Jerusalem,”  Acts,  4.27 : “For  of  a truth  against  thy  holy 
child  Jesus,  whom  thou  hast  anointed.”  So  we  learn  from 
our  own  sacred  scriptures  that  the  True  Manifestation  is 
going  to  announce  his  mission  to  the  world  in  his  child- 
or  boy-hood.  Some  one  may  say:  You  are  applying  the 
age  of  the  old  prophets  to  this  Manifestation.  Yes,  I do, 
because  the  True  Manifestation  upon  earth  was  able  to 
say : “I  am  all  the  prophets.”  Therefore,  if  all  the  prophets 
of  old  were  mere  children  or  youths  when  they  began  their 
ministry,  the  True  Manifestation  must  also  be  a child  or 
a mere  youth  when  he  began  his  mission,  otherwise  he  could 
not  say  that  he  “was  all  the  prophets.” 

We  will  now  see  what  the  Mohammedan  sacred  scripture 
say  concerning  this  matter.  In  the  “Book  of  Ighan,”  page 
174,  we  read:  “Now  consider  this  tradition;  how  all  these 
things  have  been  formerly  spoken  of!  In  ‘Arbain’  (book 
of  tradition),  it  is  recorded:  ‘A  youth  shall  appear  from 
Beni-Hashem,  possessing  new  laws;  He  will  summon 
people,  but  none  will  respond  to  Him,  and  most  of  His 
enemies  will  be  the  divines  (of  the  Beyan).  When  he 
commands  a thing,  they  shall  not  obey  Him,  but  will  say: 
‘This  is  contrary  to  that  which  we  possess  from  the  Imams 
of  the  religion’.”  See  also  pages  173  and  104.  This  proofs 
that  he  is  not  a full  grown  man  but  only  a mere  youth 
when  he  begins  his  ministry. 

Sheykh  Ahmad  and  Seyyid  Kazim,  the  forerunners, 
of  the  True  One,  have  given  these  signs  of  how  to  recog- 
nize him  when  he  comes:  “0  tender  in  years,  0 fresh  of 
bodjN  0 scarcely  weaned  from  the  drinking  of  milk.”  Or 
“The  smell  of  milk  (i.  e.  his  mother’s  milk)  still  comes 
from  his  mouth.”  And  also:  “O  sweet  boy,  what  creed 
hast  thou  adopted  that  our  blood  appears  more  lawful  to 
thee  than  thy  mother’s  milk?”  (N,  H.,  p.  340.)  Mirza 
Jani  says:  “And  that  Mother  of  the  World  fed  the  child 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


Ezel  like  a nurse  with  ‘milk  whereof  the  savour  altereth 
not’.”  (N.  H.,  p.  378.)  So  we  See  that  the  early  Babists 
called  Mirza  Yahya  “the  child  Ezel.” 

In  connection  with  this  it  will  be  of  great  help  to  state 
the  ages  of  these  three  personalities  who  played  such  an 
important  part  in  Babism,  to  viz.,  Mirza  Ali  Muhammad, 
the  Bab;  Mirza  Yahya,  Subh-i-Ezel;  and  Mirza  Huseyn  Ali, 
Beha’u’llah  when  the  manifestation  took  place  in  1844. 
Mirza  Ali  Muhammad,  the  Bab,  was  in  his  25th  year,  and 
Mirza  Yahya,  Subh-i-Ezel,  was  according  to  some  state- 
ments 12  years,  and  according  to  others  14  years  of  age; 
and  Beha’u’llah  was  27  years  of  age.  Now  we  cannot  apply 
the  terms  “child,”  “boy”  or  “youth”  to  a person  who  is 
over  24  years  of  age,  they  are  generally  called  men  after 
that  age  and  fullgrown.  So  this  sign  here  given  cannot  be 
applied  to  either  Mirza  Ali  Muhammad,  the  Bab;  or  Mirza 
Huseyn  Ali,  Beha’u’llah;  but  to  Mirza  Yahya,  Subh-i-Ezel, 
who  was  only  12  or  14  years  of  age,  the  terms  “child,” 
“boy,”  or  “youth”  can  be  applied  very  nicely. 

We  now  come  to  the  most  interesting  and  important 
point  in  our  subject,  viz.,  the  science  of  number,  and 
especially  the  sacred  number  19.  I am  convinced  that  this 
number  was  not  used,  or  invented  for  any  other  purpose 
than  to  prove  to  the  people  of  understanding,  who  is  the 
True  Manifestitation,  the  Point  of  the  Beyan,  and  the 
Author  of  the  Babi  sacred  scripture.  Now  the  word  Yahya, 
Hayya,  and  Wahid  have  all  the  same  numerical  value,  to 
viz.  19.  In  the  “Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society”  for 
1889,  page  921,  is  the  following  sentence:  “The  number  19, 
being  thus  recognized  by  the  Bab  as  the  sacred  number, 
plays  a prominent  part  in  his  system.  God,  the  One  (Vahid 
= 19),  the  True  Existence  (Vujud— 19),  the  Living  (Hayy 
Xthe  One  pervading  the  Numbers  19),  by  means  of  the 
19  “Letters  of  the  Living”  (Hurufat-i-Hayy)  created  “All 
Things”  (kullu  shey  X the  One  pervading  the  Numbers= 
361=19X19).”  In  “A  Traveller’s  Narrative,”  page  353,  is 


KEV  T('»  THE  IIE.U  KX  (M*  THE  BEYAX 


9 


the  following;  “Subh-i-Ezel’s  name  Yahya  not  only  con- 
tains the  root  hayy  (indeed  by  merely  altering  the  vowel- 
points  it  becomes  Yuhyi,  ‘he  quickens,’  or  ‘gives  life’),  but 
is  also,  as  has  just  been  pointed  out,  numerically  equiva- 
lent to  Wahid  ‘One,’  another  word  of  singular  virtue.” 
Now,  the  ‘‘Living”  (Hayy-Yahy=18) , the  “One” 
(Wahid-a  =1)  is  the  “Point  of  the  Beyan”  and  the  other 
18  disciples  are  his  “Letters”;  or  inother  words:  He  is  the 
“City  of  Knowledge”  and  the  other  disciples  are  his 
“Gates”  through  which  he  sends  out  some  knowledge  to  the 
world.  This  Living  Point  together  with  his  Letters  con- 
stitute the  “First  Unity”  and  manifest  the  Name  of  God. 
The  name  Yahya  is  a very  important  name.  We  read  in 
the  “.Jewish  Quarterly  Review,”  vol.  9,  p.  625,  the  following: 
“Jahja,  son  of  Zakarjja,  is,  with  the  Arabs,  the  name  of 
John  the  Baptist,  who,  according  to  the  Koran,  Sura  19,8, 
was  the  first  to  whom  God  gave  this  name.  Did  Muhammed 
mean  exclusively  the  name  Jahja?  And  how  shall  we  ex- 
plain this  transformation  of  Juhanna,  the  Hebrew,  which 
Ijertainly  was  not  unknown  to  the  Christians  in  the  near 
circle  of  Muhammed?  We  shall  see  that  the  Jews  identi- 
fied the  name  Jahja,  not  with  Johanna,  but  with  Jehudah 
(i.  e.  Judah),  which  is  still  more  strange!”  Vol.  19,  pp. 
101-2:  “The  lot  of  the  prophet  Zakariyya.  ‘0  Zakariyya, 
behold,  we  bring  thee  tidings  of  a son  whose  name  shall 
be  Yahya;  we  have  not  caused  any  to  bear  the  same  name 
before  him!’  . . . The  lot  of  the  prophet  Yahya.  ‘0  thou 
Man,  accept  the  Book  with  firmness’.”  If  the  original 
name  for  Judah  was  Yahya,  and  as  the  Jews  are  called  in 
the  Bible  (i.  e.  in  the  old  dispensation),  “God’s  chosen 
people,”  the  followers  of  Mirza  Yahya,  Subh-i-Ezel  must  be 
the  Jews  or  “God’s  chosen  people”  in  this  new  dispensation. 
Zech.  8.23:  “Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  In  those  days 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  ten  men  shall  take  hold  out  of 
all  languages  of  the  nations,  even  shall  take  hold  of  the 
skirt  of  him  that  is  a Jew  (i.  e.  Yahya),  saying.  We  will 


10 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


go  with  you:  for  we  have  heard  that  God  is  with  you.” 
But  the  most  wonderful  of  it  is,  that  this  name  learned 
people  claim  is  the  original  name  for  Jehovah.  We  read 
in  the  “Jewish  Quarterly  Review,”  vol.  15,  p.  560:  “Thus 
Glaser  takes  Yah  to  be  the  oldest  form  (of  Jehovah)  . . . 
This  conclusion  I may  here  say  I all  the  more  readily 
accept  since  it  is  both  highly  probable  in  itself,  and  also 
harmonizes  completely  with  my  own  views  regarding  the 
provenance  and  true  relations  of  Yahvah  (Yah).” 

“Jah.  (Heb.  Yah,  a contraction  for  Jehovah).  It  also 
enters  into  the  composition  of  many  Heb.  names,  as  Hal- 
lelujah (Hallelu-Yah) , Adonjah  (Adon-Yah),  Isaiah 
(Yesha-Yah),  Jeremiah  (Yirme-Yah),  Obadiah  (Obad- 
Yah),  Zephaniah  (Tsephan-Yah) , Zechariah  (Zekar-Yah), 
Elijah  (Eli-Yah),  ‘God  Yah’  or  Jehovah.”  (See  Cyclopedia 
of  Biblical  Literature,  by  M’Clintock  and  Strong.) 

We  will  now  search  the  writings  of  the  “Point  of  the 
Beyan,”  and  see  if  we  can  find  any  traces  as  to  who  is 
the  author  thereof. 

“The  Ziyarat-name”  is  the  first  book  attributed  to  the 
“Point  of  the  Beyan,”  and  we  have  only  few  sentences  of 
it  translated  into  English.  One  of  them  is  this : “0  Friend 
of  God!  The  first  substance  was  formed  and  shone  forth, 
(and)  then  arose  and  gleamed  from  the  court  of  the  Pres- 
ence of  the  Eternal  (i.  e.  Ezel)  upon  you.”  (JR AS,  1889, 
p.  898.)  Here  we  find  that  the  very  first  utterance  came 
forth  from  Ezel’s  court. 

“The  Sura-i-Yusuf”  is  the  second  book  written  by  the 
“Point  of  the  Beyan”  of  which  this  is  one  of  its  precepts: 
“And  verily  God  will  not  accept  from  any  one  any  of  his 
actions,  save  from  him  who  comes  to  the  Bab  (Gate)  by 
the  Bab  (Gate)  adoring  God  the  Eternal  (i.  e.  Ezel),  com- 
manded on  the  part  of  the  Bab.”  And  also : “This  well- 
favoured  Arabian  youth,  in  whose  grasp  God  hath  placed 
the  kingdom  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  Also:  “O 
people  of  the  earth!  hear  the  voice  of  your  Lord,  the 


I 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  REVAN  II 

Merciful,  from  the  tongue  of  celebration  of  this  Arabian 
youth,  the  son  of  Ali,  the  Arabian.  . . . This  Arabian  youth, 
of  Muhammad,  of  Ali,  of  Fatima,  of  Mecca,  of  Medina,  of 
Batha,  of  Irak.”  (JRAS,  1889,  pp.  907-9.)  I think  he 
calls  himself  an  “Arabian  Youth”  because  he  has  written 
most  of  his  books  in  the  Arabian  language. 

“Dalail-i-Saba”  is  the  next  book  we  shall  refer  to,  and 
the  following  is  one  of  the  evidences:  “And  in  the  fifth 
j'ear  thou  shall  see  (fulfilled),  ‘there  shone  forth  a light 
from  the  morning  of  Eternity  (i.  e.  Subh-i-Ezel) ,’  if  thou 
dost  not  thyself  flee  away  and  become  troubled.”  (JRAS, 
1889,  p.  913.)  This  is  clear  evidence. 

The  next  book  to  be  considered  is  the  “Arabic  Beyan.” 
Of  this  book  we  only  have  two  or  three  specimens  trans- 
lated into  the  English,  and  this  is  one  of  them: — 

“God  is  Most  Great  with  the  Uttermost  Greatness. 

“This  is  a letter  on  the  part  of  God,  the  Protector,  the 
Self-Existent,  to  God,  the  Protector,  the  Self-Existent. 

“Say,  ‘All  originate  from  God.’  Say,  ‘All  return  unto 
God.’ 

“This  is  a letter  from  Ali  before  Nabil,  God’s  Reminder 
unto  the  Worlds,  unto  him  whose  name  is  equivalent  to 
the  Name  of  the  One  [Wahid=28 — Yahya,  Subh-i-Ezel’s 
namel,  God’s  Reminder  unto  the  Worlds. 

“Say,  ‘Verily  all  originate  from  the  Point  of  Revelation.’ 

“0  Name  of  the  One,  keep  what  hath  been  revealed  in 
the  Beyan,  and  what  hath  been  commanded,  for  verily  thou 
art  a Mighty  Way  of  Truth.”  (N.  H.,  p.  426.) 

This  letter  is  written  by,  and  addressed  to  the  same 
person;  or,  in  other  words,  the  writer  has  addressed  it  to 
himself,  for  he  says,  from  “God”  to  “God,”  from  “God’s 
Reminder”  to  “God’s  Reminder.”  It  also  teaches  us  that 
the  people  of  the  Beyan  were  all  “originated”  from  him,  and 
afterwards  they  should  leave  him,  but  at  last  they  shall 
“return”  to  him  for  he  says:  “Verily  all  originate  from 
the  Point  of  Revelation.”  Also,  “All  originate  from  God” 


12 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


and  “All  return  to  God.”  There  is  another  sentence  from 
the  Arabic  Beyan  translated  into  English  which  is  very 
remarkable.  See  “Jewish  Quarterly  Review”  for  1912,  pp. 
239-40:  “In  the  time  of  Noah,  I was  Noah,  in  the  time 
of  Abraham  Abraham,  in  the  time  of  Moses  Moses,  in  the 
time  of  Jesus  Jesus,  in  the  time  of  Muhammed  Muhammed, 
in  the  time  of  Ali  Muhammed  (the  name  of  the  Bab)  Ali 
Muhammed  (this  is  undoubtedly  the  meaning  of  Ali-kabla- 
nabil,  nabil  being  the  numerical  equivalent  of  Muhammed). 
In  the  time  of  ‘the  Greater  One  to  Come’  I shall  surely  be 
‘the  Greater  One  to  Come,’  in  the  time  of  ‘the  Greater  One 
to  Come  Later’  ‘the  Greater  One  to  Come  Later,’  in  the 
time  of  ‘the  Greater  One  to  Come  still  Later’  ‘the  Greater 
One  to  Come  still  Later’  (etc.),  until  the  end  of  Him  who 
has  no  end,  just  as  in  the  beginning  of  Him  who  has  no 
beginning  I was  in  every  manifestation  the  proof  of  God 
towards  his  creatures.” 

We  will  now  pass  over  to  the  “Persian  Beyan,”  and  see 
what  that  book  teaches  us.  In  Vahid  3,  ch.  3 is  the  follow- 
ing sentence:  “The  quintessence  of  this  chapter  is  this, 
that  the  gaze  of  the  Beyan  is  not  extended  save  towards 
Him  whom  God  shall  manifest,  for  none  but  He  hath  raised 
or  doth  raise  it  up,  even  as  none  but  He  hath  sent  or  doth 
send -it  down.  And  the  Beyan  and  such  as  are  believers 
therein  yearn  more  after  Him  than  the  yearning  of  any 
lover  after  his  beloved.”  (T.  N.,  p.  348.)  We  learn  from 
this  sentence  that  “Him  whom  God  shall  manifest”  is  the 
same  person  as  the  “Point  of  the  Beyan”  for  he  says:  “None 
but  He  hath  raised  or  doth  raise  it  up,  even  as  none  but  He 
hath  sent  or  doth  send  it  down.”  Mirza  Jani  says:  “And 
the  reason  why  fthe  Babl  himself  refrained  from  writing 
the  eight  [unwritten!  vahids  of  the  Beyan,  but  left  them 
to  Ezel,  was  that  all  men  might  know  that  the  Tongue  of 
God  is  one,  and  that  He  in  Himself  is  a sovereign  Proof. 
And  what  he  meant  by  ‘Him  whom  God  should  manifest’ 
after  him.self  was  Hazrat-i-Ezel  and  none  other  than  him. 


KKV  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OE  THE  I5EVAN 


13 


for  there  may  not  be  two  ‘Points’  at  one  time.”  (N.  H., 
p.  381.)  So  we  see  that  the  early  Babists  who  were  initi- 
ated into  the  secret  of  Babism  understood  that  the  “Point 
of  the  Beyan,”  and  “Him  whom  God  should  manifest”  were 
one  and  the  same  person,  for  he  says:  “The  Tongue  of 
God  one,”  and  also:  “For  there  may  not  be  two  ‘Points’  at 
one  time.”  The  Babists  understood  also  that  this  person 
was  none  other  than  Subh-i-Ezel. 

We  now  turn  to  the  “Book  of  Ighan.”  On  page  72  we 
will  find  an  answer  to  the  question  “What  is  Truth?”  The 
answer  was : “The  Light  which  .shone  forth  from  the  Morn 
of  Eternity  (i.  e.  Subh-i-Ezel) , the  traces  of  which  gleam 
upon  the  Temples  of  Unity.”  Page  104:  “Say,  0 people 
of  the  earth,  this  is  a fiery  Youth  who  runneth  in  the  wild- 
erness of  Spirit,  heralding  unto  you  the  lamp  of  God,  and 
reminding  you  of  a Matter  which  is  visible  in  concealment 
under  the  veils  of  light,  fi'om  the  horizon  of  Holiness  in  the 
region  of  Irak.”  This  sentence  throws  light  on  the  matter. 
The  True  One  was  visible  but  “in  concealment  under  the 
veils  of  light.”  He  was  not  known  to  the  bulk  of  the  Babi 
followers,  but  only  to  a few  initiated  and  learned  disciples. 
Now  we  understand  why  it  was  necessary  to  assassinate 
the  old  and  learned  disciples  of  the  “Point  of  the  Beyan” 
in  order  to  inaugurate  Eeha’u’llah  as  the  head  of  the 
church.  It  was  because  they  understood  who  was  the  True 
One.  Page  11:  “So  gaze  with  Divine  Insight  into  the 
horizons  of  the  Supreme  Knowledge  and  into  the  souls  of 
the  perfect’  words  of  Eternity  (i.  e.  Ezel),  that  all  the 
mysteries  of  the  spiritual  Wisdom  may  appear  without 
‘veils  of  glory’  and  become  manifest  from  behind  the  cover- 
ing of  Favor  and  Bounty.”  Page  12:  “It  is  evident  that 
only  the  Eternal  Temples  apprehend  the  interpretation  of 
the  words  uttered  by  the  Doves  of  Eternity  (i.  e.  Ezel)  ; 
and  it  is  only  the  hearing  of  the  people  of  immortality  which 
can  detect  the  melodies  of  the  Nightingale  of  Reality.” 
Page  17 : “0  my  brother,  effort  is  needful  while  yet  the 


14 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  TEYAN 

1 ''H 

days  remain,  in  order  to  taste  the  Cups  of  Eternity  (i.  e. 
Ezel).  . . . Therefore  while  the  Dove  of  Eternity  is  singing 
and  rejoicing,  and  the  Divine  Springtime  is  in  splendor  and 
adornment,  avail  thyself  of  the  opportunity  and  deprive 
not  the  ear  of  the  heart,  of  its  melody.”  Page  165 : “An- 
other proof  and  argument  which  shines  like  a sun  among 
proofs,  is  the  steadfastness  of  that  (or  this)  Eternal  (i.  e. 
Ezel’s)  Beauty  in  the  Divine  Cause.”  This  is  very  plain 
proofs  that  Subh-i-Ezel  is  the  author  of  this  book.  We  will 
get  more  information  concerning  who  is  the  True  One  in 
our  next  chapter  where  we  will  consider  the  teachings  of 
“Him  whom  God  shall  manifest.” 

CHAPTER  III. 

Who  is  “He  ichom  God  should  manifest,’'  or  the 
“Second  Manifestation”  ? 

In  this  chapter  we  shall  refer  to  the  writings  of  “Him 
whom  God  should  manifest,”  and  see  if  we  can  receive  any 
information  on  our  subject  therefrom.  I believe  that  all  his 
writings  were  addressed  only  to  the  “People  of  the  Beyan,” 
and  not  to  any  outsiders,  for  it  is  written  that  he  was  not 
“sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.”  “He 
came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received  him  not.”  Isa. 
1.2-3:  “Hear,  O heavens,  and  give  ear,  O earth:  for  the 
Lord  hath  spoken,  I have  nourished  and  brought  up  chil- 
dren, and  they  have  rebelled  against  me.  The  ox  knoweth 
his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master’s  crib:  but  Israel  doth 
not  know  (me),  my  people  doth  not  consider.”  Jer.  12.10: 
“Many  pastors  have  destroyed  my  vineyard,  they  have 
trodden  my  portion  under  foot,  they  have  made  my  pleasant 
portion  a desolate  wilderness.” 

The  first  book  of  “Him  whom  God  shall  manifest”  we 
shall  quote  from  is  “Lawh-i-Nasir,”  and  the  burden  of  it  is 
this:  “0  people  of  the  Beyan!  ...  I revealed  all  the 

heavenly  books  by  the  glorious  tongue  of  (Divine)  Might. 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OE  THE  HEYAN 


15 


“And  not  one  reflected  wherefore  it  was  that  I accepted 
this  injury  from  my  own  servants,  for,  had  they  reflected, 
they  would  not  have  remained  veiled  from  my  Beauty  in 
my  second  manifestation  by  reason  of  a Name  amongst  my 
Names.”  (JRAS,  1889,  pp.  951-2.)  “Although  I com- 
manded all  my  servants  in  all  the  tablets  of  the  Beyan  not 
to  continue  heedless  of  my  subsequent  manifestation  or  be 
veiled  by  the  veils  of  Names  and  signs  from  the  Lord  of 
Attributes.”  ( T.  N.,  p.  96.)  Well,  we  cannot  get  any 
clearer  and  plainer  proofs  than  this,  that  the  two  mani- 
festations were  from  one  and  the  same  person. 

We  will  now  pass  over  to  “Sura-i-Heykal,”  and  see  what 
evidences  we  can  find  there.  On  pages  11  and  12  is  the 
following  sentences:  “0  People  of  el-Beyan ! ...  By  the 
One  who  hath  created  Me  from  the  Light  of  His  Beauty, 
I have  never  found  among  the  neglectful,  one  of  such  neg- 
ligence, or  among  the  ignorant,  one  of  such  ignorance,  as 
ye  are.  Ye  take  as  an  evidence  for  your  belief  in  God, 
the  Tablets  which  ye  have  in  your  possession,  but  when 
the  Signs  came  down  and  the  Lamp  gave  Light,  ye  denied 
the  One  through  whose  Pen  all  matters  were  decreed  in  a 
Preserved  Tablet.  Do  ye  read  the  signs  and  deny  their 
Originator  and  Revealer?  Thus  hath  God  seized  (deprived) 
your  sight  as  a punishment  for  your  actions — were  ye  of 
those  who  perceive:  Do  ye  write  the  verses  at  even-tide 
and  dawn,  and  from  the  One  who  caused  them  to  descend 
ye  conceal  yourselves?”  Pages  18-19:  “If  thou  (Houri) 
dost  not  find  anyone  to  receive  from  thy  white  hand  the 
red  wine  in  the  Name  of  thy  Lord,  the  High,  the  Supreme, 
who  appeared  once  more  after  His  first  appearance.”  Here 
also  he  says  that  he  was  the  first  as  well  as  this  the  last 
manifesttion.  Page  21 : “Verily  when  My  brother  saw  that 
the  matter  became  notorious  he  found  in  himself  pride  and 
delusion,  and  accordingly  went  forth  from  behind  the  veils 
and  fought  with  Myself,  disputed  My  signs,  falsified  My 
proof,  and  denied  My  traces;  but  the  belly  of  the  greedy 


16 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


was  not  satisfied  until  he  desired  to  eat  My  flesh  and  drink 
My  blood.”  That  is  to  say,  when  they  tried  to  assassinate 
him  by  poison,  or  cut  his  throat  in  the  bath.  “And  when 
those  who  misbelieved  plotted  against  thee  to  confine  thee, 
or  slay  thee,  or  drive  thee  out;  and  they  plotted,  and  God 
plotted,  and  God  is  the  best  of  plotters.”  ( T.  N.,  p.  136.) 
After  this  catastrophe  he  says  in  Sura-i-Heykal,  page  22: 
“Verily  We  were  patient  and  truly  We  commanded  the 
servants  to  practice  endurance  and  forbearance.  We  went 
out  from  among  those  people  and  settled  in  another  house 
in  order  that  the  fire  of  violent  hatred  might  be  quenched 
in  his  breast  and  he  be  of  those  who  are  guided.”  Here 
we  learn  that  the  one -who  moved  out,  is  the  one  who  has 
written  Sura-i-Heykal.  And  we  know  from  the  history  that 
Subh-i-Ezel  was  the  one  who  moved  out  from  Beha’s  house 
and  settled  in  another  house.  See  T.  N.,  pp.  359-60:  “On 
the  approach  of  the  barber,  however,  Subh-i-Ezel  divined 
his  design,  refused  to  allow  him  to  come  near,  and,  on 
leaving  the  bath,  instantly  took  another  lodging  in  Adrian- 
ople  and  separated  himself  entirely  from  Mirza  Huseyn 
Ali  (i.  e.  Beha’u’llah)  and  his  followers.”  .T.  N.,  p.  97: 
“So  when  Beha’u’llah  beheld  such  conduct  and  behaviour 
on  his  (i.  e.  Subh-i-Ezel’s)  part  he  dismissed  and  drove 
away  both  (him  and  Seyyid  Muhammad!  from  himself.”- 
This  proofs  conclusively,  that  Subh-i-Ezel  was  the  one  who 
“went  out  from  among  those  people  and  settled  in  another 
house,”  and  is  therefore  the  author  of  Sura-i-Heykal.  The 
next  evidence  in  Sura-i-Heykal  is  on  page  45:  “O  thou 

Temple!  We  have  made  Thee  the  rising  place  of  every 
Name  of  Our  Comely  Names,  and  the  Manifestation  of 
every  attribute  of  Our  Supreme  Attributes,  and  the  Source 
of  mention  of  Our  Remembrances,  to  whomsoever  is  in 
heaven  and  earth.  Then  We  sent  Thee,  after  My  Form, 
between  the  earth  and  heaven  and  made  Thee  the  Sign  of 
My  Glor3%  to  whomsoever  is  in  the  power  of  command  and 
creation,  that  My  servants  may  be  guided  by  Thee  and  be 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


17 


of  those  who  are  rightly  directed.”  Here  too  is  a clear 
evidence  that  the  first  and  second  manifestations  are  one 
and  the  same  person.  Page  52 : “VVe  have  made  Thee  the 
origin  of  the  mirrors  and  their  originator  just  as  We  have 
originated  them  from  Thee  the  first  time.”  Page  57 : ”0 
People!  Cut  yourselves  from  the  world  and  its  gold,  and 
do  not  look  to  those  who  denied  God  and  associated  other 
things  with  Him ; but  look  to  the  horizon  of  the  Beyan  for 
the  purpose  of  celebrating  your  Lord,  the  Merciful.  This 
is  what  God  hath  willed,  — blessed  are  those  who  know.” 
Page  00:  ‘T  have  filled  all  the  countries  with  ]\Iy  proofs, 
were  ye  of  those  who  are  just!  Had  the  First  Point  been 
someone  else  beside  Me,  as  ye  claim.”  “Say,  O people ; We 
have  summoned  you  in  the  first  Appearance  to  the  Most 
Great  Outlook,  this  Most  Pure  Station,  and  preached  to 
you  the  days  of  God,  but  when  the  most  great  Veil  became 
rent  and  the  Beauty  of  the  Ancients  hath  come  upon  the 
clouds  of  Destiny,  ye  denied  the  One  (i.  e.  the  First  Point) 
in  whom  ye  believed.”  It  is  impossible  to  write  any  clearer 
proofs  than  these.  Page  58 : “Verily  those  who  were 
created  by  His  Will  and  were  sent  forth  by  His  Command, 
have  turned  away  from  Him  and  chosen  for  themselves  a 
lord  other  than  God.”  Page  61:  “Say,  the  Satan  hath 
appeared  in  a condition  the  like  of  which  was  not  existent 
in  creation,  and  also  the  Beauty  of  the  Merciful  hath  been 
manifest  in  the  Embroidered  Garment  the  like  of  which 
was  not  comprehended  and  attained  by  the  eyes  of  the  An- 
cients. The  Voice  of  the  Merciful  was  raised,  and  from 
behind  it  the  voice  of  Satan  also.”  This  is  the  same  Satan 
who  deprived  Adam  of  his  Paradise,  and  Job  of  his  great 
Household,  and  tried  to  induce  Christ  to  acknowledge  him 
(Satan)  as  God.  In  the  “Tablet  of  Ishrakat,”  page  30,  we 
read : “The  Call  is  aloft  but  the  sense  of  hearing  is  scanty, 
nay  even  entirely  absent.  While  in  the  jaws  of  a dragon, 
this  Oppressed  One  makes  mention  of  the  friends  of  God.” 
Rev.  12.9:  “And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  the  old 


18 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


serpent,  he  that  is  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  which  de- . 
ceiveth  the  whole  world.” 

We  will  now  go  and  see  what  evidences  on  our  subject 
we  can  find  in  the  so  called  “Epistle  to  the  King  of  Persia.” 
In  “ A Traveller’s  Narrative,”  page  394,  we  read : “0  King 
of  the  earth,  hear  the  voice  of  this  servant ! . . . Remember 
the  grace  of  God  towards  thee  when  thou  wast  in  prison 
with  sundry  others,  and  He  brought  thee  out  thence,  and 
succoured  thee  with  the  hosts  of  the  Invisible  and  the 
Visible,  until  the  King  sent  thee  to  Irak  (i.  e.  Baghdad) 
after  that  We  had-  disclosed  to  him  that  thou  wast  not  of 
[the  number  ofJ  the  seditious.”  This  is  a very  plain  state- 
ment that  this  epistle  was  not  addressed  to  the  King  of 
Persia  as  it  is  commonly  understood,  but  that  it  was  ad- 
dressed to  a man  who  was  “in  prison  with  sundry  others,” 
and  this  same  man  was  sent  by  the  King  of  Persia  to  Bagh- 
dad after  it  was  disclosed  that  he  was  “not  of  the  sedi- 
tious.” And  we  know  from  the  history  that  Beha’u’llah 
was  in  prison  at  Teheran,  and  after  his  release  therefrom 
was  sent  by  the  King  to  Baghdad.  In  “The  Bahai  Move- 
ment,” page  16,  is  the  following  passage:  “Later  on,  it 
being  proved  that  He  (i.  e.  Beha’u’llah)  was  innocent  of 
any  plot  against  the  government.  He  was  .sent  by  the  royal 
order  into  exile  to  Baghdad  in  Asiatic  Turkey.”  This 
proofs*  without  doubt  that  Beha’u’llah  is  not  the  author  of 
the  Epistle  but  that  it  was  addressed  to  him,  and  who  else 
could  be  the  author  of  it  except  Subh-i-Ezel? 

T.  N.,  p.  396:  “0  King,  if  thou  wouldest  hear  the  cry 
of  the  Supreme  Pen,  and  the  murmur  of  the  Dove  of  Eter- 
nity (i.  e.  Ezel)  on  the  branches  of  the  Lote-tree  beyond 
which  there  is  no  passing  in  the  praise  of  God.”  Here  we 
see  that  the  murmur  of  Ezel  is  the  cause  of  this  Epistle, 
and  that  it  was  written  by  his  pen.  T.  N.,  p.  139:  “0 
King!  The  lamps  of  justice  are  extinguished,  and  the  fire 
of  persecution  is  kindled  on  all  sides,  until  that  they  have 
made  my  people  captive.  This  is  not  the  first  honour 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


19 


which  hath  been  violated  in  the  way  of  God.  It  behoveth 
every  one  to  regard  and  recall  what  befell  the  kindred  of 
the  Prophet  until  that  the  people  made  them  captives  and 
brought  them  in  unto  Damascus  the  spacious;  and  amongst 
them  was  the  Prince  of  Worshippers,  the  Stay  of  the  elect, 
the  Sanctuary  of  the  eager”  (i.  e.  Zeynul-Abidin,  the 
“Fourth  Imam,”  the  “Fourth  Support,”  the  “Fourth  Letter 
of  the  Living,”  that  is  to  say  Subh-i-Ezel) . Now  we  can 
understand  the  Mohammedan  tradition  concerning  Christ 
which  sa3’s  that  it  was  not  him  who  was  crucified  but  one 
like  him  (i.  e.  the  Bab),  and  that  Christ  himself  took  his 
retreat  in  the  “Fourth  Heaven,”  i.  e.  in  the  “Fourth  Letter 
of  the  Living.”  T.  N.,  p.  140:  “It  was  said  (unto  them), 
‘Have  ye  forbidden  what  God  hath  sactioned,  or  sanctioned 
what  God  hath  forbidden?’  He  said,  ‘We  were  the  first 
who  followed  the  commandments  of  God : we  are  the  source 
of  command  and  its  origin,  and  the  first-fruits  of  all  good 
and  its  consummation : we  are  the  sign  of  the  Eternal 
(i.  e.  Ezel),  and  His  commemoration  amongst  the  nations.” 
T.  N.,  pp.  148-9:  “The  White  Hand  shall  cleave  an  opening 
to  this  sombre  night,  and  God  will  open  into  His  city  a 
gate  shut.  On  that  day  men  shall  enter  in  in  crowds,  and 
shall  say  what  the  cavilling  women  said  of  >mre,  that  there 
may  appear  in  the  end  what  began  in  the  beginning.” 
That  is  to  saj",  the  First  Manifestation,  or  the  Point  of  the 
Beyan  “may  appear  in  the  end”  or  the  “Lord  of  the  vine- 
yard” will  be  revealed  to  the  people  of  the  Beyan  and  re- 
sume his  vine^’ard.  Isa.  60.14-15:  “And  they  shall  call 
thee  ‘The  City  of  the  Lord,’  ‘The  Zion  of  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel.’  Whereas  thou  hast  been  forsaken  and  hated,  so 
that  no  man  passed  through  thee,  I will  make  thee  an 
eternal  excellencj",  a joj"  of  many  generations.” 

We  will  now  pass  on  to  the  tablet  called  the  “Tablet  of 
Ishrakat.”  On  page  6 we  read : “0  Concourse  of  El-Beyan ! 
Fear  the  Clement  One!  This  is  the  One  of  whom  Moham- 
med, the  Messenger  of  God,  made  mention ; and  before  him 


20 


' KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


the  Spirit  (Christ),  and  before  him  the  Interlocutor 
(Moses)  ! This  is  the  Point  of  El-Beyan  who  calleth  out 
before  the  Throne.”  Here  he  says  plainly  that  he  “is  the 
Point  of  El-Beyan.”  Page  8:  “0  Concourse  of  El-Beyan! 
Have  ye  forgotten.  My  Commandments  and  that  which  hath 
proceeded  from  My  Pen  and  hath  been  uttered  by  My 
Tongue.”  Page  16 : “But  when  Thou  made  Thyself  mani- 
fest and  revealed  Thy  Verses,  they  turned  away  from  Thee, 
denied  Thee  and  disbelieved  that  which  Thou  hast  shown 
forth  by  Thy  Power  and  Thy  Potency.  And  they  arose  to 
persecute  Thee,  to  quench  Thy  Light  and  to  extinguish  the 
Fire  of  Thy  Sadrat,  and  they  went  so  far  in  oppression  as 
to  desire  to  shed  Thy  blood  and  violate  Thy  honor.”  Page 
29:  “Verily,  We  mention  unto  thee  Trustworthiness  and 
its  station  before  God,  thy  Lord,  and  the  Lord  of  the  Great 
Throne.  Verily,  one  day  We  betook  Ourself  unto  Our  Green 
Island.  When  We  arrived  thither  We  found  its  streams 
flowing,  its  trees  luxuriant  and  the  sun  playing  in  the 
‘interstices  of  their  branches.”  Here  we  find  the  very 
locality  or  place  where  he  lives,  the  station  of  his  abode, 
and  it  is  the  “Green  Island,”  i.  e.  Cyprus.  Page  30:  “He 
has  had  no  helper  save,'  His  Pen  and  no  assistant  save  Him- 
self. Those  souls  who  are  uninformed  and  heedless  of  the 
origin  of  the  matter  arose  in  opposition.  They  are  the 
‘croakers’  whom  God  hath  mentioned  in  Books  and  Tablets 
and  warned  His  servants  concerning  their  dissemination, 
clamor  and  corruptions.”  Page  32 : “The  Oppressed  One 
of  the  world  says:  The  Orb  of  Justice  is  concealed;  the 
sun  of  equity  is  behind  the  clouds;  thieves  occupy  the 
position  of  guardians  and  protectors,  and  traitors  are 
seated  in  the  place  of  trustworthy  ones.” 

The  Babi  revelations  is  not  the  only  scripture  where 
we  find  the.se  lamentations  and  wailings  over  the  oppres- 
sion and  tyranny  which  the  people  of  God  encounter  in  the 
hands  of  their  enemies,  we  find  it  in  our  own  scripture  in 
the  Bible.  If  we  read  the  Psalms  of  David  we  will  find 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  .OF  THE  BEYAN 


21 


nothing  else  except  this  wailing  and  crying  for  help  against 
his  enemies  which  have  control  of  Zion,  the  sacred  City. 
And  also  in  Jeremiah  and  all  the  rest  of  the  prophets. 
Psalm  89.38-45 : “But  thou  hast  cast  off  and  abhorred,  thou 
hast  been  wroth  with  thine  anointed  (i.  e.  Messiah=Mess- 
Yah  or  Christ).  Thou  hast  made  void  the  covenant  of  thy 
servant : thou  hast  profaned  his  crown  -by  casing  it  to  the 
ground.  Thou  hast  broken  down  all  his  hedges;  thou  hast 
brought  his  strong  holds  to  ruin.  All  that  pass  by  the  way 
spoil  him : he  is  a reproach  to  his  neighbours.  Thou  hast 
set  up  the  right  hand  of  his  adversaries;  thou  hast  made 
all  his  enemies  to  rejoice.  Thou  hast  also  turned  the  edge 
of  his  sword,  and  hast  not  made  him  to  stand  in  the  battle. 
Thou  hast  made  his  glory  to  cease,  and  cast  his  trone  down 
to  the  ground.  The  days  of  his  youth  hast  thou  shortened : 
thou  hast  covered  him  with  shame.”  In  the  Lamentation 
of  Jeremiah  (i.  e.  Yirme-Yah)  1.1-5:  “How  doth  the  city 
(i.  e.  the  City  of  Knowledge)  sit  solitary,  that  was  full  of 
people!  how  is  she  become  as  a widow!  she  that  was  great 
among  the  nations,  and  princess  among  the  provinces,  how 
is  she  become  tributary!  She  weepeth  sore  in  the  night, 
and  her  tears  are  on  her  cheeks:  among  all  her  lovers  she 
hath  none  to  comfort  her:  all  her  friends  have  dealt 
treacherously  with  her,  they  are  become  her  enemies.  Judah 
(i.  e.  Yahya)  is  gone  into  captivity  because  of  affliction, 
and  because  of  great  servitude:  she  dwelleth  among  the 
heathen,  she  findeth  no  rest:  all  her  persecutors  overtook 
her  between  the  straits.  The  ways  to  Zion  do  mourn,  be- 
cause none  come  to  the  solemn  fests:  all  her  gates  (i.  e. 
the  Babs  to  the  City  of  Knowledge)  are  desolate:  her 
priests  sigh,  her  virgins  are  afflicted,  and  she  is  in  bitter- 
ness. Her  adversaries  are  the  chief,  her  enemies  prosper.” 
Ps.  22.12:  “Many  bulls  have  compassed  me:  strong  bulls 
of  Bashan  (i.  e.  Baha-sn)  have  beset  me  round.  They 
gaped  upon  me  with  their  mouths,  as  a ravening  and  a 
roaring  lion.” 


22 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


It  will  be  of  interest  to  mention  here  the  story  or  con- 
flict between  the  prophet  Elijah  and  the  tyrannous  king 
Ahab.  Now  as  we  have  seen  that  the  original  name  for 
Elijah  is  Eli-Yah  or  El-Yahya  that  is  “God  Jehovah”;  and 
the  name  Ahab,  if  we  read  it  from  right  to  left,  it  will  be 
Baha,  just  as  Rahab  will  be  Bahar,  In  the  Babi  writings 
we  find  very  often ’many  derivations  from  letters  of  the 
same  name.  As  for  instance  Baha,  Abha,  Ahab,  etc.,  all 
these  w'ords  are  composed  from  the  same  letters,  and  have 
the  same  numerical  value.  And  also  the  words  Yahya, 
Hayya,  are  from  the  same  letters  and  have  the  same  num- 
erical value.  The  conflict  between  Elijah  and  king  Ahab 
is  therefore,  the  conflict  between  El-Yahya  and  Baha.  This 
will  give  us  some  help  in  studying  the  Bible. 

Also  it  is  very  important  to  mention  here,  that  we  are 
warned  in  the  Revelation  concerning  a “Beast”  w'hich  the 
“Dragon”  gave  “his  power,  and  his  throne,  and  great 
authority”  to,  and  this  beast  name  in  Hebrew  is  “Abaddon,” 
and  in  Greek  “Apollyon,”  and  his  name’s  number  is  666. 
Now  this  name  Abaddon  or  Abdon  means  “Hard  Servitude” 
or  “Slave  of  the  Sun.”  And  the  name  Apollyon  means  “the 
Destroyer.”  And  as  we  all  know  that  the  science  of  number 
was  very  important  in  Babism,  “let  him  that  hath  under- 
standing count  the  number  of  the  beast : for  it  is  the  num- 
ber of  a man ; and  his  number  is  Six  hundred  threescore 
and  six.”  (Rev.  13.18.) 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Shall  there  be  any  more  Revelation  or  Manifestation  in 
this  Dispensation? 

“Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord  (R.  V.  Jehovah), 
that  I will  make  a new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel 
(perhaps  Ezel),  and  with  the  house  of  Judah  (i.  e.  Yahya)  : 
Not  according  to  the  covenant  that  I made  with  their 
fathers  in  the  days  that  I took  them  by  the  hand  to  bring 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN’  OF  THE  KEYAN  2.? 

them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  (i.  e.  in  the  first  and  second 
manifestation  of  the  Beyan)  ; which  my  covenant  they 
brake,  although  I was  a husband  unto  them,  saith  the  Lord : 
But  this  shall  be  the  covenant  that  1 will  make  with  the 
house  of  Israel : After  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I will 
put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their 
hearts;  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people. 
And  they  shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbour,  and 
every  man  his  brother,  saying.  Know  the  Lord:  for  they 
shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest 
of  them,  saith  the  Lord : for  1 will  forgive  their  iniquity, 
and  will  remember  their  sins  no  more.”  (Jer.  31.31-34.) 
“How  long  shall  be  the  vision  concerning  the  continual 
burnt-offering  and  the  transgression  (or  abomination)  tha^ 
niaketh  desolate,  to  be  given  both  the  sanctuary  and  the 
host  (i.e.the  Point  and  the  People  of  the  Beyan)  to  be  trod- 
den under  foot?”  (Dan.  8.13.)  “And  the  holy  city  (i.  e.  the 
“City  of  Knowledge”  whereof  “Ali  is  the  Gate”)  shall  be 
trodden  under  foot  forty  and  two  months.”  (Rev.  11.12.)  * 
After  this  “forty  and  two  months,”  the  “stone”  which 
thou  sawest  was  “cut  out  without  hands,  which  smote  the 
image  upon  his  feet  that  were  of  iron  and  clay,  and  brake 
them  to  pieces”  then  “shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a 
kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  destroyed.”  (Dan.  2.34-44.) 
Then  also  shall  “the  stone  (Ezel)  which  the  builders  re- 
jected, the  same  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner:  this  is 
the  Lord’s  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes!”  Then 
also  shall  the  Lord  of  the  vineyard  come  and  take  possession 
of  his  vineyard.  That  is  to  say,  “The  Point  of  the  Beyan” 
who  planted  the  vineyard  will  be  revealed  and  take  posses- 
sion of  his  vineyard.  We  read  in  Sura-i-Heykal,  page  23 : 
“0  Thou  Pen  of  Eternity  (i.  e.  Ezel)  ! Do  not  grieve  for 
that  which  has  befallen  Thee,  for  God  shall  send  forth 
people  who  see  with  their  eyes  and  remember  what  did 
befall  Thee.”  Page  43 : “We  have  made  the  sciences  to 
appear  from  Thee,  and  to  Thee  shall  we  return  them;  then 


/ 


24 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


they  will  be  sent  forth  from  Thee  for  another  occasion  as 
a promise  on  Our  part, — Verily  We  have  been  the  doers.” 
Here  we  learn  that  all  the  sciences  or  verses  which  have 
been  revealed  in  the  Babi  religion  hath  appeared  from  one 
and  the  same  person,  and  also  that  the  sciences  or  verses 
are  going  to  be  sent  forth  or  be  renewed  by  that  same 
person  on  “another  occasion  as  a promise  on”  the  part  of 
God. 

In  the  famous  so  called  “Epistle  to  the  King  of  Persia” 
which  we  have  proven  without  doubt  to  have  been  written 
by  Subh-i-Ezel  and  addressed  to  Beha’u’llah  is  the  follow- 
ing sentence : “The  White  Hand  shall  cleave  an  opening  to 
this  sombre  night,  and  God  will  open  into  His  city  a gate 
shut:  On  that  day  men  shall  enter  in  in  crowds,  and  shall 
say  what  the  cavilling  women  said  of  yore,  that  there  may 
appear  in  the  end  what  began  in  the  beginning.”  (T  N., 
pp.  148-9.)  This  passage  proves  that  the  “First  Point”  is 
going  to  re-appear  in  the  end,  and  at  that  time  people  shall 
enter  in  in  crowds.  “Persia  by  a Persian,”  page  454,  we 
read:  “But  even  in  this  night,  the  last  (Babi)  revealer  still 
lives  in  concealment  and  communicates  with  his  followers 
by  certain  gates.  When  the  revea’er  is  about  to  reincarnate 
himself  again  this  great  event  is  preceded  by  a number  of 
prophetic  gates  or  channels  of  communication.”  This  Babi 
Revealer  is  the  concealed  Imam  Mahdi  in  “the  mystical 
cities  of  Jabulka  and  Jabulsa”  from  whence  he  will  issue 
forth  in  the  fullness  of  time  and  cleanse  his  church  from 
all  corruption.  Isaiah,  1.26:  “And  I will  restore  thy  judges 
as  at  the  first,  and  thy  counsellors  as  at  the  beginning 
(i.  e.  as  at  the  beginning  of  the  Beyan)  : afterwards  thou 
.shall  be  called.  The  city  of  righteousness,  the  faithful  city.” 
Jer.  30.20:  “Their  children  also  shall  be  as  aforetime, 
and  their  congregation  shall  be  established  before  me,  and 
I will  punish  all  that  oppress  them.”  Jer.  33.7 : “And  I 
will  cause  the  captivity  of  Judah  (i.  e.  Yahya)  and  the 
captivity  of  Israel  to  return,  and  will  build  them  as  at 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


25 


the  first  (i.  e.  as  at  the  beginning  of  the  Beyan).”  Amos, 
9.11;  “In  that  day  will  I raise  up  the  ta'cernacle  of  David 
that  is  fallen,  and  close  up  the  breaches  thereof ; and  I will 
raise  up  his  ruins,  and  I will  build  it  as  in  the  days  of  old 
(i.  e.  as  in  the  beginning  of  the  Beyan).”  T.  N.,  p.  148: 
“On  that  daj'  men  shall  enter  in  in  crowds.”  Is.  49.21 : 
“Then  shall  thou  say  in  thine  heart.  Who  hath  begotten 
me  these,  seeing  I have  lost  my  children,  and  am  desolate, 
a captive,  and  removing  to  and  fro?  and  who  hath  brought 
up  these?  Behold,  I was  left  alone;  these,  w'here  had  they 
been?  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Behold,  I will  lift  up  mine 
hand  to  the  Gentiles,  and  set  up  my  standard  to  the  people: 
and  they  shall  bring  thy  sons  in  their  arms,  and  thy 
daughters  shall  be  carried  upon  their  shoulders.”  Is.  51.9 ; 
“Awake,  awake,  put  on  strength,  0 arm  of  the  Lord; 
awake,  as  in  the  ancient  days,  in  the  generation  of  old  (i.  e. 
as  in  the  beginning  of  the  Beyan).  Art  thou  not  it  that 
hath  cut  Rahab  (i.  e.  Bahar),  and  wounded  the  dragon?” 
Is.  53.12 : “Therefore  will  I divide  him  a portion  with  the 
great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong;  be- 
cause he  hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death:  and  he  was 
numbered  with  the  transgressors;  and  he  bare  the  sin  of 
many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors.”  Then 
it  will  be  true  about  Subh-i-Ezel  as  it  is  written  in  “The 
Book  of  Ighan,”  page  116,  that  he  is  “the  ‘First,’  the  ‘Last,’ 
the  ‘Manifest,’  the  ‘Hidden,’  the  ‘Beginning,’  and  the 
‘End’.”  And  also  as  it  is  written  in  the  Bible : “I  am  Alpha 
and  Omego,  the  Beginning  and  the  End;  the  First  and  the 
Last,  saith  the  Lord,  which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which 
is  to  come,  the  Almighty.”  And  also  in  the  tablet  called 
“Seven  Valleys,”  page  36:  “In  this  station  the  ‘First’  is 
identical  with  the  ‘Last,’  and  the  ‘Last’  is  the  same  as  the 
‘First’.” 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OE  THE  BEYAN 


2r> 


CHAPTER  V. 

Concerning  Stealing  and  Interpolating  the  Babi  Sacred 

Scriptures. 

We  know  from  the  Babi  history  that  all  the  Babi  Books 
were  carried  away  by  Beha  and  his  followers.  In  the 
“Tablet  of  Ishrakat,”  page  40,  we  read:  “The  contra- 
dictors are  collecting  the  Verses  of  this  Manifestation,  and 
with  whomsoever  they  have  found  them,  have  seized  them 
by  the  means  of  showing  (pretended)  love.”  In  “A  Trav- 
eller’s Narrative,”  page  343,  Subh-i-Ezel  says:  “They  (i. 
e.  the  Behaists)  cruelly  put  to  the  sword  the  remnant  of 
I my]  friends  who  stood  firm,  and,  making  strenuous 
efforts,  got  into  their  hands  such  of  the  Books  of  His 
Highness  the  Point  as  were  obtainable,  with  the  idea  of 
destro3dng  them,  and  I thereby  I rendering  their  own  works 
more  attractive.  They  also  carried  off  my  trust  [i.  e.  the 
books  above  referred  to  committed  to  their  care  — which 
was  close  to  30  volumes — 1,  and  fell  not  short  of  anything 
which  can  be  effected  by  foes.”  Is.  42.23-24 : “Who  is 
there  among  ^mu  that  will  give  ear  to  this?  that  will 
hearken  and  hear  for  the  time  to  come?  Who  gave  Jacob 
for  a spoil,  and  Israel  to  the  robbers?  did  not  Jehovah?” 
Obad.  1.13-14:  “Thou  shouldest  not  have  entered  into  the 
gate  (the  Bab)  of  my  pepole  in  the  day  of  their  calamity; 
yea,  thou  shouldest  not  have  looked  on  their  affliction  in 
the  day  of  their  calamity,  nor  have  laid  hands  on  their 
substance  in  the  day  of  their  calamity;  Neither  shouldest 
thou  have  stood  in  the  crosswajs  to  cut  off  those  of  his 
that  did  escape;  neither  shouldest  thou  have  delivered  up 
those  of  his  that  did  remain  (firm)  in  the  days  of  distress.” 
Joel,  3.4-7 : “Yea,  and  what  have  ye  to  do  with  me,  O 
Tyre,  and  Zidon,  and  all  the  coasts  of  Palestine?  will  ye 
render  me  a recompence?  and  if  ye  recompencs  me  swiftly 
and  speedily  will  I.  return  your  recompence  upon  your  own 
head;  Because  ye  have  taken  my  silver  and  my  gold  (i.  e. 


KEY  TO  THE  IlEAVEX  OE  THE  HEVAN 


27 


the  Babi  Revelations),  and  have  carried  into  your  temples 
my  goodly  pleasant  things.”  Concerning  Tyre  and  Zidon, 
see  Ezekiel,  chapter  28. 

Concerning  Interpolating  the  Babi  Sacred  Scriptures. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  when  we  read  the  Babi  Books 
that  they  have  been  in  the  hands  of  the  enemies,  and  is 
therefore  not  clean,  but  corrupted.  I believe  it  is  true 
what  Christ  said  in  Mat.  13.24:  “The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  likened  unto  a man  which  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field: 
But  while  men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares 
among  the  wheat.”  The  Babi  history  as  well  as  their 
sacred  scriptures  prove  this  that  a terrible  corruption, 
changing  and  transposing  of  its  meanings  has  been  going 
on  in  the  hands  of  the  Behaists.  In  Sura-i-Heykal,  pages 
24-25,  we  read:  “This  is  better  for  you  than  that  which 
ye  have  done  and  do  — fear  God  and  deprive  not  yourselves 
from  the  fragrances  of  the  days  of  the  King  of  the  Names 
and  Attributes  and  change  not  the  word  of  God  nor  trans- 
pose its  meaning.”  In  the  “Tablet  of  Ishrakat,”  page  41: 
“His  Holiness,  the  Precursor  (the  Bab)  hath  revealed 
(certain)  Ordinances,  but  the  world  of  Command  hath  been 
made  dependent  upon  (Our)  acceptance.  This  Wronged 
One  has  therefore  enforced  some  of  them  and  revealed 
them  in  a different  text,  in  the  Book  of  Akdas,  while  We 
have  not  adopted  some  others.”  “Facts  for  Behaists,” 
page  27 : “In  answer  to  the  question,  Has  Abbas  Effendi 
ever  dared  to  change  the  text  uttered  by  Beha’u’llah?  we 
say,  most  certainly,  ‘Yes’.”  “An  Epistle  to  the  Babi 
World,”  page  11:  “One  of  the  questions  is  that  of  stealing 
the  traces  and  interpolating  the  verses.  . . . This  they  (i.  e. 
Muhammed  Ali  and  his  followers)  have  done.”  “Bahai 
Movement,”  page  59:  “He  (the  Bab)  left  certain  laws  and 
ordinances  for  the  guidance  of  his  followers  until  the  ad- 
vent of  Baha’u’llah,  all  of  which  should  be  abrogated,  with 
the  promised  coming.”  When  we  abrogate  the  writing  and 


28 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


teaching  of  a prophet,  we  abrogate  the  prophet  himself  and 
brand  him  as  a lying  imposter.  So  we  have  plenty  of 
proofs  which  say  that  there  has  been  continual  corruption, 
interpolation,  changing,  transposing,  and  stealing  away 
the  sacred  scriptures  of  the  Babi  Religion  in  the  hands  of 
the  Bahais  ever  since  the  Adrianople  period. 

In  conclusion  I will  ask  my  readers  who  are  earnest  in 
seeking  for  the  Truth,  to  go  to  the  Root  of  Babism,  and 
study  the  early  histories  as  well  as  the  sacred  scriptures 
thereof,  in  order  to  get  the  real  meaning  of  what  that 
religion  teaches  humanity.  I will  also  ask  Professors  and 
Scholars  who  are  learned  in  the  Arabic  and  Persian 
languages  to  translate  and  publish  the  early  histories  as 
well  as  the  sacred  scriptures  of  the  Babis,  for  I believe 
they  will  soon  be  demanded  by  the  people  of  discernment. 

Yours  very  truly, 

August  J.  Stenstrand. 

Chicago,  June,  1913. 


AN  OPEN  LETTER  TO  THE  BABI  WORLD 


. . . or  . . . 

A Second  Call  of  Attention  to  the  llehaists 
or  Babists  of  America. 

My  friend!  I have  received  your  letter  and  I was  glad 
to  hear  that  you  are  taking  part  in  seeking  for  the  truth. 
....  You  have  asked  me  why  I was  voted  out  of  the  “First 
Central  Church  of  the  Manifestation.”  My  little  book  (A 
Call  of  Attention  to  the  Behaists  or  Babists  of  America) 
e.xplains  that  very  plainly.  ...  It  was  on  account  of  dif- 
ferent opinions  concerning  the  truth.  The  Bible  calls  it 
“confusion  of  tongues”  as  it  was  foretold  that  it  should 
be  in  Bab-el. 

You  also  have  asked  me  why  Subh-i-Ezel,  the  anointed 
or  appointed  successor  to  the  Bab,  has  not  succeeded  to 
become  more  known  to  the  world.  It  was  because  all  his 
friends,  the  Babists,  went  back  on  him  in  Adrianople,  so 
that  he  had  no  supporters  to  voice  his  cause  abroad.  It 
became  fulfilled  which  was  prophecied  about  him  in  Isaiah 
53:  “He  was  despiced  and  rejected  of  men;  a man  of 
sorrow,  and  acquainted  with  grief : and  we  hid,  as  it  were, 
our  faces  from  him ; he  was  despiced,  and  we  esteemed  him 
not,”  because  “he  had  no  form  nor  comeliness,”  and  when 
we  saw  him  “there  was  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire 
him”;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  “he  was  cut  off  out  of 
the  land  of  the  living,”  and  there  was  no  one  to  “declare 
his  generation”  or  to  spread  his  fame.  As  he  says  (see 
Tablet  of  Ishrakat,  p.  30)  : “0  thou  who  art  gazing  toward 
the  Supreme  Horizon!  The  Call  is  aloft  but  the  sense  of 
hearing  is  scanty,  nay  even  entirely  absent.  WTiile  in  the 
jaws  of  a ‘dragon,’  this  Oppressed  One  makes  mention  of 
the  friends  of  God.”  He  “made  intercession  for  the  trans- 
gressors.” So  we  see  that  his  teaching  and  glory  were 
swallowed  up  by  a dragon  and  his  hosts;  while  he  himself 


30 


KEY  i:0  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 

. - I i-'i  M I » ,V 
was  sent  out  in  the  wilderness,  where  God  the  Almighty 

had  a place  prepared  for  him,  where  he  should  abide  until 
the  time  came,  when  God  shall  have  brought  all  his  enemies 
to  him  for  a footstool.  So  we  see  that  there  was  none  who 
believed  his  report,  or  who  it  was  that  revealed  the  Arm 
of  God.  These  are  the  reasons  why  he  is  not  known  to  the 
world  according  to  your  idea. 

We,  the  BabiSts,  believe  that  the  Babi  religion  is  the 
return  of  all  the  religions  and  the  prophets,  “everything 
will  return  except  God,”  or  as  it  stands  in  the  New  History 
of  the  Bab:  “The  ‘Proof’  of  God  upon  earth  was  able  to 
say,  ‘I  am  Adam,  and  Noah,  and  Abraham,  and  Moses, 
and  Jesus,  and  Muhammad’.”  And  also:  “In  him  shall  be 
the  perfection  of  Moses,  the  preciousness  of  Jesus,  and  the 
patience  of  Job.”  If  this  is  true  sayings,  then  the  true 
manifestation  of  God  must  go  through  the  conditions  of  all 
the  former  prophets.  If  we  take  the  story  of  Moses  literal, 
according  to  how  the  map  points  out  the  journey  of  the 
Israelites,  then  neither  the  Bab,  nor  Subh-i-Ezel,  or  Beha- 
Ullah,  went  through  those  regions.  But  we  all  know  that 
both  Subh-i-Ezel  and  Beha  Ullah  (not  of  their  own  frea 
will  or  choice)  made  a similar  journey,  but  through  dif- 
ferent regions.  This  is  the  outward  or  material  journey. 
But  the  most  important  is  the  spiritual  journey  from  dark- 
ness to  light,”  which  if  we  understand  it  right  will  throw 
some  new  light  upon  Babism. 

I will  take  a few  names  which  are  connected  with  the 

Israelites’  journey  and  explain  their  original  meanings,  and 

then  we  will  see  where  we  arrive  at.  Take  for  example 

Mount  Sinai  or  the  wilderness  of  Sin.  A mountain  in  the 

Bible  symbolizes  a “prophet”  or  a “manifestation,”  and 

Sinai  or  Sin  is  the  name  for  the  “Moon.”  There  fore,  when 

we  read  in  the  Bible,  that  the  children  of  Israel  received  the 

law  of  God  on  Mount  Sinai,  it  means,  that  God  revealed 

His  law  to  the  children  of  Israel  through  the  “Manifestation 

of  the  Moon.”  And  as  there  is  always  a “Point  of  Dark- 
/ 


KEY  TO  THE  IIEAVEX  OE  THE  I’.EYAX 


31 


ness”  opposite  the  “Point  of  Light,”  so  also  here.  The 
opposite  manifestation  to  Mount  Sinai  is  named  Mount 
Horeb,  and  as  this  word  Horeb  means  “dry,”  it  simply 
means  a “Dry  Manifestation,”  or  a “Well  without  Water.” 
You  know,  that  during  the  time  Moses  was  seated  upon 
the  throne  of  manifestation  and  received  the  law  of  God, 
the  children  of  Israel  made  to  themselves  a golden  calf. 
^^’e  also  read  in  Ezekiel  about  “four  living  beings,”  of 
which  the  third  mentioned  in  rotation,  and  the  only  one 
on  the  left  side,  was  like  a “bull,  ox,”  or  “calf.”  We  also 
find  in  Babism  the  “Letters  of  the  Living,”  as  for  instance 
the  four  letters  composing  the  word  “Hykl.”  This  bull 
or  calf,  mentioned  in  Ezekiel,  is  the  same  one  which  the 
children  of  Israel  made  for  themselves  to  be  their  god. 
Now  if  we  study  the  history  of  Moses  and  compare  it  to  the 
Babi  movement  we  will  soon  discover  who  is  the  true 
manifestation. 

The  true  manifestation  of  God  must  akso  fulfill  the  life- 
sketch  of  Christ.  And  we  learn  from  the  Babi  history  that 
Subh-i-Ezel  went  through  a similar  fate.  At  first  he  was 
held  by  the  Babists  as  their  anointed  Messenger  and  leader, 
and  they  spread  their  garments  before  him,  and  they  cut 
palm  branches  and  strewed  in  his  way  and  hailed  him  as 
“Sosanna  in  the  highest:  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.”  But  at  last  they  all  went  back  on  him 
and  denied  him,  and  became  his  enemies ; and  they  branded 
him  as  the  first  “Letter  of  Denial”  and  called  him  Satan 
and  Beelzebub,  and  a disturber  of  peace,  and  a “dark, 
dreadful,  dire  calamity,”  etc.,  as  it  is  written:  “Then  all 
the  disciples  forsook  him  and  fled,”  and  left  him  alone 
without  any  helper  or  supporter  to  voice  his  cause.  As  he 
himself  says  in  Hykl  (see  JRAS,  1892,  pp.  292-95)  : “Verily 
We  were  before  the  faces  of  whomsoever  is  in  the  heaven 
and  the  earth  in  the  days  when  all  the  servants  arose  to 
kill  Me.”  Also : “O,  people  of  the  Beyan ! Do  ye  deny  him 
whom  ye  were  created  to  meet,  and  do  ye  then  rejoice  in 


32 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 


your  seats.”  ‘Also:  “O  people  of  the  Beyan!  If  ye  will  not 
help  him,  God  will  help  him  with  the  hosts  of  the  heaven 
and  the  earth.”  And  also : “They  forbade  men  from  pre- 
senting themselves  before  the  Beauty  of  the  Eternal  (i.  e. 
Ezel)  or  eating  with  his  friends.”  So  that  those  who 
wanted  to'  see  him  had  to  do  so  in  the  time  of  night  like 
Nicodemus,  to  save  their  lives.  We  also  learn  from  the 
history,  that  the  Babists  accused  him  before  the  Turki.sh 
government,  as  having  made  himself  an  earthly  king  over 
the  Babists,  and  that  their  government  was  in  danger, 
just  as  the  Jews  did  to  Christ  before  the  Roman  govern- 
ment. At  last  they  condemned  him  to  death,  and  “the 
notable  prisoner  called  Barabbas  was  released,”  and  they 
nailed  him  to  the  cross  (i.  e.  his  Hykl,  Word,  or  Spirit), 
for  he  says  (see  JRAS,  1889,  p.  952)  : “It  hath  been  wit- 
nessed what  an  amount  of  cruelty  and  perversity  was 
shown  by  the  people  of  error,  so  that  none  can  reckon  it 
but  God;  until  at  length  they  suspended  my  glorious  body 
in  the  air,  and  wounded  it  with  the  bullets  of  malice  and 
hatred,  until  my  spirit  returned  to  the  Supreme  Companion 
and  gazed  on  the  Most  Beauteous  Garment.”  And  he  was 
buried  and  he  descended  into  Hades,  and  is  preaching  to 
the  spirits  of  darkness,  and  his  enemies  thought  that  they 
were-  through  with  him,  but  God  hath  promised  to  send 
forth  His  speirit  and  raise  him  up  from  the  grave  or  Hades, 
and  re.store  him  to  his  former  glory.  In  Hykl,  He  says: 
“O  Pen  of  Eternity  (i.  e.  Ezel)  ! Grieve  not  at  what  hath 
befallen  thee,  for  God  will  raise  up  a people  who  shall  see 
with  their  eyes  and  shall  remember  what  hath  befallen 
thee.”  So  we  see  that  God  has  promised  to  raise  up  a 
people  who  shall  voice  his  cause;  and  verily  God  is  the 
fulfiller  of  His  promise. 

The  True  One  of  God  must  also  fulfill  the  story  of  Job. 
And  if  we  read  Job’s  book  and  compare  it  to  Subh-i-Ezel’s 
biography,  we  will  find  that  he  has  fulfilled  it  to  the  letter, 
except  the  last  act,  which  is  not  fulfilled  yet,  but  I have 


KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN'  OE  THE  BEYAN 


33 


no  doubt  that  that  also  will  be  fulfilled  when  the  time 
comes. 

In  the  Apocalypse  of  Moses  (see  Jewish  Quarterly 
Review,  vol.  7,  pp.  219-35)  we  read,  that  when  the  serpent 
or  Satan  had  deprived  Adam  of  everything  and  he  was 
lying  upon  the  earth  like  a dead  man  outside  of  Paradise, 
Cod  looked  on  him  and  said : “O  Adam,  wherefore  hast 
thou  done  this,  for  if  thou  hadst  kept  my  commandment, 
which  I gave  to  thee,  they  would  not  be  rejoicing  who  have 
brought  thee  into  yonder  place  of  thine?  But  now  I say 
to  thee,  that  when  my  salvation  shall  be  manifested  to  the 
world,  1 will  turn  their  rejoicing  into  sorrow;  but  thy 
sorrow  I will  turn  into  rejoicing.  For  I will  restore  thee 
unto  they  primal  glory,  and  .seat  thee  on  a throne  of  thy 
deceiver.  And  he  shall  come  to  that  place  wherein  thou 
art  now  lying,  and  he  shall  behold  thee  become  higher  than 
himself.  And  then  he  himself  shall  be  judged  and  all  hif} 
worshippers.  And  I send  him  into  the  gehenna  of  fire. 
And  he  shall  be  much  affrighted  and  will  sorrow,  beholding 
thee  sitting  on  his  throne.”  As  Babism  is  a new  creation, 
the  true  one  must  also  fulfill  the  story  of  Adam.  First 
be  created  and  placed  in  Paradise,  then  be  deprived  of  the 
same,  and  at  last  be  restored  to  the  Paradise  and  its  former 
glory. 

In  the  “Hidden  Words”  he  addresses  the  Babists  thus: 
“0,  Ignorant  Ones,  who  have  a reputation  for  Knowledge! 
Why  do  ye  claim  to  be  shepherds  whilst  inwardly  ye  have 
become  wolves  of  My  sheep?  Your  likeness  resembles  the 
star  preceeding  the  dawn,  which  is  apparently  bright  and 
luminous,  but  in  reality  leads  the  caravans  of  My  country 
and  city  astray,  and  causes  their  destruction.”  Also:  “0, 
Perfect  in  Appearance,  and  Inwardly  Defective!  Your 
example  is  like  unto  a clear  but  bitter  water,  which  shows 
outwardly  the  utmost  purity  and  clearness,  but  when  it 
falls  into  the  Hands  of  the  Divine  Assayer,  not  a single 
drop  of  it  is  accepted.”*  Here  we  find  the  “Star  Worm- 


34  KEY  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  BEYAN 

wood”  manifested,  who  made  the  waters  bitter.  And  also 
Christ’s  denounciation  against  hypocricy:  “Ye  are  like 
unto  whited  sepulchres,  which  indeed  appear  beautiful  out- 
ward, but  are  within  full  of  dead  men’s  bones,  and  of  all 
uncleanness.”  Also  he  says:  “0  Son  of  the  Highest  Ap- 
pearance! I deposited  in  the  a Spirit  from  Me,  that  thou 
mightest  be  My  Lover:  Why  hast  thou  left  Me  and  sought 
another  lover?”  This  saying  cannot  be  applied  to  any  one 
else  in  the  Babi  movement  except  Subh-i-Ezel,  for  he  is 
the  only  one  who  has  gone  through  that  experiment.  . . . 

Your  question  concerning  Shittim,  Chittim  or  Kittim. 
It  is  the  oldest  name  known  for  Cyprus,  as  far  back  as  the 
creation  of  Adam  and  the  Bible,  so  this  is  a very  good 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  island  of  Cyprus  is  the  place 
intended,  since  it  carried  that  name  at  that  peculiar  time. 
The  Palestinian  name  of  such  are  later. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  the  Babists,  before  Beha 
ever  appeared  on  the  stage,  had  as  it  stands  in  the  book  of 
Ighan,  over  twenty  volumes  of  inspired  books  written  by 
the  Bab  and  some  of  his  learned  disciples  as  proof  for  this 
religion.  "And  I know  that  the  Behaists  have  tried  with 
all  their  might  and  power  to  proof  Beha’s  claim  with  utter- 
ances from  all  the  existent  religions  on  the  face  of  the 
earth ; but  they  have  not  translated  into  the  English 
language  a single  copy  of  all  those  twenty  volumes  of  books 
which  the  Bab  and  his  learned  friends  wrote  as  a proof 
for  Beha’s  claim,  which  seems  very  suspicious  to  me,  al- 
though the  Bab  is  taught  by  the  Behaists  to  be  Beha’s  fore- 
runner or  roadclearer.  Does  it  not  to  you? 

Your  friend, 

August  J.  Stenstrand. 


Chicago,  January  Oth,  1911. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


For  Babi  Literature  see  “Encyclophedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics,”  by  James  Hastings,  vol.  2,  pp.  299-308. 

See  also  “Catalogue  and  Description  of  27  Babi  Manu- 
scripts,” by  Prof.  E.  G.  Browne,  of  Cambridge,  England, 
in  the  “Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,”  for  1892, 
pp.  433-499. 


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"0,  Friends!  Plant  not  but  flowers  of  Love  in  the  garden  of  the 
■Ind,  and  withdraw  not  thine  hand  from  holding  to  the  Nightingale  of 
affection  and  yearning.  Esteem  the  companionship  of  the  just,  but 


